U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,203, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses an apparatus for vacuum peeling of fruits and vegetables which comprises a frame to which is fixed a conveyor consisting of a chain with buckets mounted thereon. Over the chain, in its front part, is disposed a mobile lid that forms at a given moment with the respective bucket a closed vacuum chamber. A vacuum cock is mounted on the mobile lid and, by means of a flexible coupling, connects the lid to a receiver and a vacuum pump. An air cock is also mounted on the lid and immediately near it is fixed a vacuum meter. Over the front part of the conveyor, outside of it, is disposed a drum heater containing a tank in the lower end of which is mounted a vapor spiral. To the frame of the tank is seated a freely rotating drum that is separated in sectors by radially disposed perforated blades. The drum heater is connected to the conveyor by an inclined chute.
A drawback of the known apparatus is its complicated design and, as a result of the separation of the technological operations in the drum heater and the conveyor and the long duration of the technological process, the formation of a large amount of waste products during the peeling. Moreover, the prolonged mechanical shifting of the fruits and vegetables in the drum heater and the conveyor leads to their damaging.
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for vacuum peeling of fruits and vegetables having a simplified construction and permitting a reduction in the period of vapor treatment and thus ensuring the production of high quality peeled fruits and vegetables. The process of cleaning is intensified while conserving the flavor and the nutritive qualities of the cleaned fruits and vegetables. As a result, there is a complete and reliable cleaning of fruits and vegetables of arbitrary shape, and a reduction in the losses of dry substance in maintaining a stable vacuum.